Started a new project, using just one mp4 file. Dragged the file into elements 13 and played it in premiere elements…made no adjustments or other changes. The audio lags video by somewhere between one and two seconds. This same mp4 file plays fine in my QuickTime player…no sync issue.

Please confirm the project preset being set by the program automatically based on the properties of that source file when it is the first file dragged to the Timeline. See Edit Menu/Project Settings/General and the readings for Editing Mode, Timebase, Frame Size, and Pixel Aspect Ratio (even if the field look grayed out).

When you drag that file to the Timeline for the first time (as the first file to the Timeline) is there an orange line over that content or no colored line? If orange line, what happens to your issue if you Timeline render by pressing the Enter key of the computer main keyboard? That is supposed to get you the best possible preview in the Edit area monitor. When Timeline render is complete, the orange line will turn green (indicating that you are now getting the best possible preview.) This Timeline rendering is not fixing anything. It is just creating preview files so that you can view the best possible preview.

Also, was your .mp4 recorded using a variable frame rate? What is the brand/model/settings for the camera that recorded the video (cell phone video?)

Thanks for the reply The answers did not appear below as mentioned in your post numbered 2. So, when you get a chance, please try to post that information again.

We can go at whatever pace you want. If you do not understand my questions, do not hesitate to let me know that. I will re-write if needed. Just tell me what you do not understand about a particular question.

Examples....I need to know the project preset for your project in which you let the project set the project preset by dragging the first file to the Timeline. To find out what the project set, you go to Edit Menu/Project Settings/General and then tell me what you see for Editing Mode, Timebase, Frame Size, Pixel Aspect Ratio even if those field look grayed out. Here is an example of what you would see if the project preset was set at the Default Project Preset

If you let me know what is in the fields mentioned, I can interpret the rest.

I should be able to put together important information by knowing the brand/model/settings of the camera that recorded the video rather than you having to download and install free video and properties readout programs. If you tell me that it was a cell phone that recorded your video, that is important information.

When I talk about "render color indicator" lines over Timeline content, see the following screenshot

Screenshot is from version 11, but Render Indicator Line applies to versions 12 and 13 as well.

Right now, please determine what information you can put together about your project settings and properties that describe your video source.

What are the properties of your .mp4 file? Don’t know…does this help?Please confirm the project preset being set by the program automatically based on the properties of that source file when it is the first file dragged to the Timeline. See Edit Menu/Project Settings/General and the readings for Editing Mode HD 1080i, Timebase 29.97 frames/second, Frame Size 1920 horizontal 1080 vertical, and Pixel Aspect Ratio Square Pixels (1.0) (even if the field look grayed out).

When you drag that file to the Timeline for the first time (as the first file to the Timeline) is there an orange line over that content or no colored line? An orange vertical line is present at the beginning…at the far left If orange line, what happens to your issue if you Timeline render by pressing the Enter key of the computer main keyboard? Did that…took about 9 minutes to complete That is supposed to get you the best possible preview in the Edit area monitor. When Timeline render is complete, the orange line will turn green (indicating that you are now getting the best possible preview.) Orange line did NOT change colors…is still orange This Timeline rendering is not fixing anything. It is just creating preview files so that you can view the best possible preview. Audio still lags video, as before

Also, was your .mp4 recorded using a variable frame rate? Don’t know What is the brand/model/settings for the camera that recorded the video (cell phone video?)

File was created with Elgato video capture from a VHS tape to my MacBook hard drive. To conserve HD space, I moved it to an external hard drive, where it now resides.

Thanks for the reply. I think that we are still hung up on getting the source information confirmed, but I think that we are getting closer to getting that information.

1. You say that your video (.mp4) is from video capture from a VHS tape to your MacBook hard drive. I am guessing that this means that your video is

720 x 480 4:3 standard (if you are in a NTSC setup like the United States). If that is the case, your project settings under Edit Menu/Project Settings/General should have been

and not Editing Mode = HD1080i as shown in the screenshot in post 3. This all points to you not having the correct project preset as set automatically by the project. So, you set the project preset yourself manually before you import your files into the project. If all is as assumed, then you need the project preset to be

NTSC

DV Standard

To manually set the project preset before you import the source files....

Open the project to the Expert workspace, and go to File Menu/New Project and Change Settings.

In Change Settings, set the project preset to match the properties of the source media. OK out of there.

In the New Project dialog that opens, rename the project and make sure to have a check mark next to "Force Selected Project Setting on This Project". OK out of there.

Right now i am going on your VHS source as pointing to the 720 x 480 properties. Determine if you see 720 x 480 in the Properties for the video after it is imported into the Expert workspace of the project....Add Media/Files and Folders/Project Assets...right click the file's thumbnail in Project Assets, select Properties from the menu that appears, and read the frame size and frame rate details.

Please review the above, and then let me know where you are OK and not OK with the above.

After File Menu/New/Project and Change Settings button, you will get the following Change Settings area where you select the project preset

NTSC

DV Standard

If you look to the right column there, you will see the description of the preset which includes 720 x 480.

When you click OK after you make the set, you will be greeted by the New Project Dialog again - this time with your new setting for NTSC DV Standard which represents 720 x 480; whereas before you probably had the default NTSC AVCHD Full HD1080i30 which is 1920 x 1080.

Remember, change name of project - here I changed it to VHS Project from the default.

And, make sure to have the check mark next to Force Selected Project Setting on this Project before you click OK.

You should then be back in the Expert workspace where you use Add Media/Files and Folders/Project Assets from where you get your source files to the Timeline there.

Please let me know if you are OK with the above. If not, please let me know where you need more information.

If you are sure of the 720 x 480 project properties and the 720 x 480 project preset, then we are going to try to take your source file through the free HandBrake to convert it to a H.264.mp4 file to be imported into the Premiere Elements project.

Thanks for the update. Great news about the HandBrake results. Let us work on that not so good news about the burn to disc DVD.

I am assuming that your brought your HandBrake SD H.264.mp4 files into the new project set for NTSC DV Standard and, when you did the burn to disc, you used the preset = NTSC_Dolby DVD.

You got the detoured to the .iso file since the project had problems doing what you requested, that is, the burn to disc.

The missing Adobe promised backup .iso file in this instance did not appear. That has been happening a lot. Comparing the burn to disc with and without the Intel HD Graphics preferences disabled in the Edit Menu/Preferences/General is one troubleshooting approach to resolving the "no show .iso" issue. But, let us avoid the .iso issue for now.

Set up your project as described, and then do Publish+Share/Disc/DVD with burn to Folder (4.7 GB). If that is successful, we can rule out the burner and disc and focus on other factors. Depending on your results, I will post the instructions for taking the VIDEO_TS Folder from the saved folder to DVD disc using the free ImgBurn program.

1. About the burn to folder...what error message did you get? Please check out your post numbered 15. That burn to folder route is going to be important since the burn to ISO Image is bad news....more on that in a few more sentences.

2. What was your answer when I asked whether the burn to problems existed with or without the Intel HD Graphics 2000 or Higher preference disabled?

In the same context, is your video card/graphics card driver version up to date according to the web site of the manufacturer or the card or the manufacturer of the computer?

3. Now the not so good news....the burn to ISO Image is flawed since, if the .iso image produced has a file size greater than 1 GB, the disc that uses this .iso file is not recognized by the disc player. If that were not the case, you would take the .iso file into the free ImgBurn program to get that .iso image to disc.

ATR, to begin my response…and this is probably overkill…below are the basics of my system:

I’m using DVD-RDL discs.

On to your questions/comments:

1. About the burn to folder...what error message did you get? Please check out your post numbered 15. That burn to folder route is going to be important since the burn to ISO Image is bad news....more on that in a few more sentences.

I don’t remember getting an error message when burning to folder…typically, I get this message…but then can’t find the .iso file. I did find one of them (the 3.7 GB file that you are telling me is too large…that something is wrong).

When attempting a burn to DVD, I get this message…but then can’t find the .iso file.

2. What was your answer when I asked whether the burn to problems existed with or without the Intel HD Graphics 2000 or Higher preference disabled?

In the same context, is your video card/graphics card driver version up to date according to the web site of the manufacturer or the card or the manufacturer of the computer?

First question: I didn’t have an answer, because I have no idea where/how to disable it. Please advise/explain.

Does the above screen shot of the Intel Iris specs help to answer the second question?

3. Now the not so good news....the burn to ISO Image is flawed since, if the .iso image produced has a file size greater than 1 GB, the disc that uses this .iso file is not recognized by the disc player. If that were not the case, you would take the .iso file into the free ImgBurn program to get that .iso image to disc.

I don’t have enough space on the Macintosh HD for all my files, so I keep a lot of video files on the (external) LaCie HD.

Does this mean that before each project, I need to move any/all files to the Macintosh HD that are used in the assembly/burn process…and then move them back to the LaCie HD afterwards? Or, does item d, below, solve this issue?

You use the Write Image Files To Disc category.

How to write an image file to a disc using ImgBurn - Guides - ImgBurn Support Forum

c. Don’t know what that means…if you are saying I will not be able to burn to HD, why not?

d. Seems like this one might be important…I’ve never changed any of these. They are as shown below.

Maybe I should (using Browse) point all of these to correct folder of my external LaCie HD? If so, I’m guessing the changes should be made before a project is started?

I think that’s (more than?) enough for this edition. I know you’re probably tired of dealing with me. And…nothing personal…I’m tired of dealing with all these email messages instead of being able to produce the finished product. I was hoping that with the Adobe name and a more expensive price tag than most, this software would be very intuitive…almost, “plug ’n play”. I was wrong!

I’m optimistic we are close to resolution…thanks, again, for your continued help/persistence!

When I read a Premiere Elements user's issue in one of these threads, I take it on as if it were happening to me. And, in the spirit of do not give up, I move to find the solution. So, each of your messages is welcomed. Lots of projects for you to get out. It is very frustrating when the troubleshooting becomes the project, instead of the project being the project. I understand.

Thanks for the reply and details. In case you want to continue....

Some just in case comments to make sure we are in sync on the details....

About burn to folder versus not finding an .iso file....

Publish+Share

Disc

DVD and then selecting from choices of

Disc

ISO Image (4.7 GB)

ISO Image (8.5 GB)

Folder (4.7 GB)

Folder (8.5 GB)

If you have a DVD-RDL and were doing burn to ISO Image (8.5 GB), you would expect an .iso file end product.

And, we know that there are Premiere Elements 13/13.1 problems with these .iso files over 1 GB in file size.

There is convincing proof of this for Premiere Elements Blu-ray and AVCHD .iso files, but not sure if DVD-VIDEO really escapes this problem or not. See comments in link.

What I was asking about was not the results from your burn to ISO Image, but rather the results from the burn to Folder (8.5 GB). In that case, the end product is a folder containing the OpenDVD Folder and VIDEO_TS Folder, not an .iso file. It is important to know, does this Folder 8.5 route fail or succeed, and can you find the saved folder from the process?

About the Intel HD Graphics 2000 and Higher preferences...

I am not sure if that preference is included in the Premiere Elements Mac preferences. If present, it should be under Edit Menu/Preferences/General

The specific wording of the preference is "Use Hardware Acceleration (works on HD Graphics 2000 and higher". To disable it (if you have it), just remove the check mark next to it.

Regarding Scratch Disks - Disc Encoding....

During a burn to, temporary burn files are stored in the Encoded Files Folder in the Adobe Folder (at least in Windows). The location for this Encoded Files folder is set in Edit Menu/Preferences/Scratch Discs and its Disc Encoding category. These temporary files are gone when the session is closed. But, during the burn, these temporary files need to be pointed to a hard drive location with plenty of free hard drive space to accept them. I do not see you needing to move files back and forth....just free up enough space at the area where the Disc Encoding temporary files are directed.

My immediate focus is to determine if you can do the burn to Folder (8.5 GB). And, if you can, determine if you can take its VIDEO_TS Folder to a DVD disc in DVD-VIDEO format using the free ImgBurn. In doing that we get

a. an end product you can use if you are in a time crunch

b. troubleshooting information which takes the burner and disc out of the problem equation

What I was asking about was not the results from your burn to ISO Image, but rather the results from the burn to Folder (8.5 GB). In that case, the end product is a folder containing the OpenDVD Folder and VIDEO_TS Folder, not an .iso file. It is important to know, does this Folder 8.5 route fail or succeed, and can you find the saved folder from the process?

The short answer is no.

I tried burning to both ISO Image (8.5GB) and Folder (8.5 GB)

Both messages indicated success, but I don’t believe it. I’ve searched “manually” and with Spotlight. The only .iso file I can find on either HD is that 4.37 GB file from JUN 9.

I also tried burning to a DVD and got that familiar error message:

“Something” must be a technical term (just kidding)!

From your message:

About the Intel HD Graphics 2000 and Higher preferences...

I am not sure if that preference is included in the Premiere Elements Mac preferences. If present, it should be under Edit Menu/Preferences/General

How about doing the burn to Folder (8.5 GB)? It would be a big help to know if that works.

At this point, I am not sure how we would get the saved folder's VIDEO_TS Folder on a DVD disc. Typically that is done with the free ImgBurn program. But, it is my recollection that ImgBurn is Windows Only.

But, just in case message, does your Premiere Elements Mac have a burn to Folder (8.5 GB) so we could get the VIDEO_TS Folder and then worry about how to get that to disc Mac-wise?

How about doing the burn to Folder (8.5 GB)? It would be a big help to know if that works.

As I reported last night, it didn’t work:

The message indicated success, but I don’t believe it. I’ve searched “manually” and with Spotlight. The only .iso file I can find on either HD is that 4.37 GB file from JUN 9.

At this point, I am not sure how we would get the saved folder's VIDEO_TS Folder on a DVD disc. Typically that is done with the free ImgBurn program. But, it is my recollection that ImgBurn is Windows Only.

Yes, I’ve read that ImgBurn is Windows only.

But, just in case message, does your Premiere Elements Mac have a burn to Folder (8.5 GB) so we could get the VIDEO_TS Folder and then worry about how to get that to disc Mac-wise?

Do you have the installation files and purchased serial number for your Premiere Elements?

If so, I think that we should discuss a program uninstall/free ccleaner run through/reinstall which has the potential for triggering some of those burn to to work. I cannot point you to new disc or new burner since you cannot get the burn to folder or .iso image.

I think it time to go for the uninstall, free ccleaner run through to get rid of leftovers from incomplete uninstalls/reinstalls from Adobe and non Adobe products, and then reinstall (and, if applicable to Mac, do with antivirus and firewalls disabled).

Burned to Folder (8.5 GB)…got a success message…these are the files I found. None of them will play as a DVD with QuickTime Player.

Burned to ISO Image (8.5 GB)…got a success message…these are the files I found. None of them will play as a DVD with QuickTime Player.

19. Burned to Disc…got the same old “something bad” happened message.

I’m tired of the continual “wheel spinning” and I feel defeated…I’m now starting to think Adobe is not the answer for me.

Since JUN 1, I have either sent or received a total of 37 email messages to/from Adobe, counting this one. And I have invested a lot of hours, working with it, following your instructions, etc. All I have gained is a growing frustration and a sinking feeling that I've wasted my time and money buying this software.

It seems that Adobe’s strong suit…including your apparent experience...is Windows. Maybe I need to find a competitor of Adobe’s with more Mac expertise?

You seem to be unaware that this is not Adobe. Rather user to user. I am a visitor here like yourself. I have no affiliation with Adobe. I have repeatedly written in threads here that I am strictly an Elements Windows user who seeks to work with Mac user troubleshooting when there appears to be common ground between Premiere Elements Windows and Mac. The issue that you have described and the troubleshooting that I have suggested are consistent with each other. And, the frequency of the Adobe presence in this forum is undefined. We won the first battle with the audio, are battling still the burn to, and the prognosis for the outcome is guarded.

You wrote

Burned to Folder (8.5 GB)…got a success message…these are the files I found. None of them will play as a DVD with QuickTime Player.

Burned to ISO Image (8.5 GB)…got a success message…these are the files I found. None of them will play as a DVD with QuickTime Player.

There is nothing under ..."these are the files I found". If you did the Premiere Elements burn to Folder (8.5 GB) successfully, you should have a saved folder on your computer. In that folder should be two folders, OpenDVD Folder and VIDEO_TS Folder. It is the VIDEO_TS Folder that you take to DVD disc for playback on your player. That is great news that the burn to folder was success and you found folder/files (hopefully the ones expected). I am not sure what "None of them will play" are. Are you saying that you took the VIDEO_TS Folder to DVD Double Layer Single Sided disc and that DVD-VIDEO format on that DVD disc would not play back on a player that supports DVD-VIDEO on DVD double layer single sided disc? Or, did you instead try to play back the DVD video file in the VIDEO_TS Folder (VTS_01_1.VOB)?

And, as I mentioned, .iso files (file size over 1 GB) generated by Premiere Elements are essentially worthless since the player does not recognize the disc with the iso file with the file size over 1 GB.

A major factor that got put aside as we waited for results for burn to folder was what to use to take the VIDEO_TS Folder to DVD when a Mac computer is involved. ImgBurn is Windows Only. Since I do not have Mac computer, I have not been able to do first hand testing on this matter, but there are numerous online articles for doing this using at least Roxio Popcorn, Toast, and DVD Shrink (I am not sure if they are free as is ImgBurn and trouble free)

It was hoping that your work with the uninstall reinstall would have gotten the burn to disc to work. It has not. I share your disappointment and frustration on that. If we know that the burn to folder really works, then we might explore use of an alternative burner (borrowed ideally).